Boohoo ‘misleading’ customers over faux fur jumper

Online retailer Boohoo has been criticised for mis-selling real fur following an investigation.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has criticised Boohoo for “misleading” consumers by mis-selling a jumper containing real fur, by labelling it as faux fur.

An investigation conducted by the Humane Society International (HSI) found that a jumper described as using fake fur, actually contained rabbit fur when tested by an independent textile laboratory.

According to an ASA report, the external supplier of the “faux fur pom pom” jumper had signed an acknowledgement report committing to not supply products containing real fur. While Boohoo had quality control tests in place to check for real fur, records showed that a sample of fur from the product in question had passed internal tests.

Boohoo said: “We have a strong commitment against the sale of real fur in any of our products. Following the enquiry made by the Humane Society, the item has been removed from sale. We uphold our commitment against the sale of real fur in any of our products and continue to investigate the matter internally and with the supplier in question, and we do so as a matter of priority.”

According to Claire Bass, executive director of HSI UK, companies have a responsibility to put in place rigorous checks throughout their supply chains, to ensure that their customers are not misled.

Last year, high street brands Tesco, Boots and FatFace were all accused of mis-selling real fur as faux fur following another HSI investigation. Bass said that many retailers that have been caught selling real fur believed they had been misled by suppliers, but retailers still have a responsibility to put rigorous checks in place within their supply chains to stop fur from reaching customers.

“Ultimately we believe that the best way to protect both consumers and animals is for the UK to introduce a nationwide fur sales ban. Parliament decided long ago that fur is too cruel to produce here, and we want to see that reflected in our high street shops and online stores,” she said.